Recipe from Caroline Chambers.
Ingredients:
- Kosher salt
- 1 lb. pound spaghetti, fettuccini, or linguini
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- 1 c. whole-milk cottage cheese
- 1 c. Parmesan cheese, grated, plus more for serving
- 1 garlic clove, smashed and peeled
- 4 TBSP unsalted butter, cut into chunks
- Ground black pepper, to taste
Directions:
- Cook Pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta to the boiling water and cook according to package instructions for al dente.
- Lemony “Alfredo” Sauce: While the pasta’s cooking, add the zest and juice of 1 lemon to a blender along with the cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, smashed garlic clove, and 1/2 tsp. kosher salt.
- A couple of minutes before the pasta is ready, use a glass measuring cup to scoop out 1 1/2 c. of the pasta water.
- Add 1/2 c. of the pasta water to the blender and blend until smooth (it may take a minute or so!). If it’s not blending well, add another 1/4 c. of pasta water (or however much you need to get it going) and blend again.
- Add Pasta to Sauce: Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Off heat, add butter and the blended cottage cheese mixture, and stir and toss vigorously until the butter is melted and the pasta is coated in sauce, adding more pasta water as needed, about 1/4 c. at a time, until glossy. The sauce may clump at first but keep stirring, tossing, and adding pasta water until it’s smooth! It may take 2 to 3 minutes — just keep going, it’ll get there. (You may not use all the pasta water you reserved — stop when it gets glossy and smooth!).
- Serve: Season to taste with more kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve topped with more freshly grated Parmesan and black pepper.
Lemony Protein “Alfredo” Pasta
Ingredients
Kosher salt
1 lb. pound spaghetti, fettuccini, or linguini
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 c. whole-milk cottage cheese
1 c. Parmesan cheese, grated, plus more for serving
1 garlic clove, smashed and peeled
4 TBSP unsalted butter, cut into chunks
Ground black pepper, to taste
Directions
- Cook Pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta to the boiling water and cook according to package instructions for al dente.
- Lemony "Alfredo" Sauce: While the pasta’s cooking, add the zest and juice of 1 lemon to a blender along with the cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, smashed garlic clove, and 1/2 tsp. kosher salt.
- A couple of minutes before the pasta is ready, use a glass measuring cup to scoop out 1 1/2 c. of the pasta water.
- Add 1/2 c. of the pasta water to the blender and blend until smooth (it may take a minute or so!). If it’s not blending well, add another 1/4 c. of pasta water (or however much you need to get it going) and blend again.
- Add Pasta to Sauce: Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Off heat, add butter and the blended cottage cheese mixture, and stir and toss vigorously until the butter is melted and the pasta is coated in sauce, adding more pasta water as needed, about 1/4 c. at a time, until glossy. The sauce may clump at first but keep stirring, tossing, and adding pasta water until it’s smooth! It may take 2 to 3 minutes — just keep going, it’ll get there. (You may not use all the pasta water you reserved — stop when it gets glossy and smooth!).
- Serve: Season to taste with more kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve topped with more freshly grated Parmesan and black pepper.